A League of Their Own: TV Review

Prime Video's foray into the diamond of drama sees an updating of the Penny Marshall movie so beloved by many.

Set in 1943 as America's morale takes a dive during the wartime effort, the TV version of A League of Their Own wastes no time in showcasing its comedy and drama chops in its pilot episode.

Opening with Abbi Jacobson's Carson Shaw running desperately to catch a train to Chicago, the series wastes no time in juggling plenty of characters running to chase their dreams - and in some ways, running from their pasts and present.

Flustered and shocking those nearby with her bra showing, Carson soon finds herself a fish out of water in the big city, and against the others wanting to try out for a proposed women's baseball league team, The Rockford Peaches, meant to fill a gap while the men are away at war and morale needs boosting.

Shaw finds kindred spirits in fellow players Greta Gill (D’Arcy Carden), Jo De Luca (Melanie Field) and Lupe Garcia (Roberta Colindrez), but finds herself up against the male gaze as the team's sponsor determines they're not quite as refined enough for what they're aiming for.

However, the social mores of the time raise their ugly heads as Chante Adams' Max Chapman is about to find out - the colour of her skin finds her benched before she's even stepped up to the plate.

Inevitably though, the Rockford Peaches are in for a rough ride, and drama and disappointment as well as joy and elation lie ahead.

A League of Their Own's first episode has it all - flounce, comedy and heart as it juggles the roster of characters heading for the big city and following their dreams.

But it doesn't quite have enough baseball to keep the premise going, though that's not to say it strikes out.

The period detail is impressive, and a light peppy bunch of dialogue (sadly peppered with profanity, meaning this isn't the family show it could so easily have been) makes the show's pilot a relative joy to behold.

Sadly, the series' second episode can't continue the frenetic pace.

Even with the introduction of Nick Offerman's washed up coach and former player can't stop the show from lapsing into more melodramatic soapy edges as the characters' backgrounds are more fleshed out. 

And Max's storyline starts to feel like less of a pull, playing out in parallel to the main Rockford Peaches' saga.

It's here the show starts to hit the expected tropes and storylines of such a series, but rather than subverting them, it seems content to revel in the cliche and embrace it, making for a slightly underwhelming start to the show.

While A League of Their Own may hit more of the LGBTQI edges of the times that were oft buried, and is to be applauded for doing so, it feels less like it's interested in doing something new with it, and more interested in showcasing the stories and little else.

A League of Their Own's TV foray isn't quite the home run you'd expect, but at the bottom of the ninth, with the odds against it, you'd be unwise to bet against it and dismiss it.

A League of Their Own starts streaming on Prime Video from Friday August 12.